BAD RIVER Documentary Will Premiere This Month

Comcast NBCUniversal’s Black Experience on Xfinity teams up with award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio (A Most Beautiful Thing, I Am Jane Doe) and executive producer and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill, to premiere Bad River, a film that chronicles the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band and their ongoing fight for sovereignty. The story unfolds in a groundbreaking way, through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience.

On Earth Day, Monday, April 22, Bad River will be available exclusively on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity (BEX) channel, X1, Xumo and Flex.

Co-narrated by indigenous actor and activist Quannah ChasingHorse and award-winning actor Edward Norton (Primal Fear, American History X, Birdman), this inspiring project brings us through an epic sweep of history into the present, with a David vs. Goliath battle to save Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in North America. The film chronicles the tenacity of the Bad River Ojibwe, a Native community located in Northern Wisconsin, as they resist, time and again, an effort a millennium in the making to erase and eradicate their culture and community.

“We are passionate about creating the world’s best and most diverse collection of multicultural programming and entertainment available anywhere,” said Loren Hudson, SVP and Chief Diversity Offer, Comcast Cable. “Through our partnership with Mary Mazzio and Grant Hill, and with platforms like the Black Experience on Xfinity, we are proud to play a role in expanding access to original programming that shines a light on the stories of underrepresented communities for millions of additional viewers.”

“This story is about a small group of people, who, with monumental effort and at great personal cost, have been and continue to protect one of the world’s most precious resources, Lake Superior,” says Mary Mazzio. “If this project prompts us into doing more for each other instead of just for ourselves, wouldn’t that be something…”

Executive producers include Allison Abner (Narcos), NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill, Grammy-nominated singer Tamia, Mato Wayuhi (Reservation Dogs), who wrote several hip-hop tracks for the film; Grammy-winning producer, Shep Crawford (producer/writer for Whitney Houston, Tamia, Boyz II Men), who wrote and produced an original score. Taylor Hensel (Reservation Dogs, Reciprocity Project) worked on both the story and strategy for the project; Alec Sokolow (Toy Story) worked closely with Abner and Mazzio on all aspects of the narrative, and Bad River students created original artwork for the animation team at PunkRobot, an Academy Award winning shop (Bear Story). Quannah ChasingHorse also serves as Executive Producer.

Black Experience on Xfinity is a first-of-its-kind destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. Available at home on Xfinity X1 and Flex, and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app, the Black Experience on Xfinity features original and high-quality content from Comcast NBCUniversal and other major studios, in addition to content from many of Xfinity’s existing network partners, at no additional cost to Xfinity customers.  The channel is the only one of its kind endorsed by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world's largest group of Black film critics that gives annual awards for excellence in film and television. 

Xfinity customers can access the Black Experience on channel 1622 or simply say “Black Experience” into THE VOICE Remote to instantly enjoy the ultimate in Black storytelling. Non-Xfinity customers will be able to view the partnership on Xumo Play, Comcast and Charter’s free ad-supported streaming service app.